The 1968 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 1968. It was the 72nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1968 VFL season. The match, attended by a record crowd of 116,828 spectators, was won by Carlton by a margin of 3 points, marking that club's tenth premiership victory and first since winning the 1947 VFL Grand Final.
The Blues emerged victorious despite Essendon kicking more goals. There was a strong wind gust throughout the game which kept Carlton inaccurate. Garry Crane starred on the wing for the Blues with 30 possessions.
Essendon came to within a point of Carlton in the 20 minute mark of the final term after a goal to Geoff Blethyn. Despite a goalless last quarter, Carlton managed to keep their lead, thanks largely to 20th man Neil Chandler, who took some crucial marks in the dying stages.
The game's attendance of 116,828 at the time represented the most spectators to have witnessed a premiership decider in VFL Grand Final history, breaking the record of 115,803 spectators who witnessed the 1956 VFL Grand Final. The record was subsequently broken again in the 1969 VFL Grand Final and 1970 VFL Grand Final.
Contents |
| Essendon | |||
| B: | Darryl Gerlach | Geoff Pryor | Neil Evans |
| HB: | Alec Epis | John Williams | Barry Davis |
| C: | Ken Fletcher | John Ellis | Russell Blew |
| HF: | Robin Close | Alan Noonan | David Shaw |
| F: | Ted Fordham | Geoff Blethyn | Paul Sproule |
| Foll: | Don McKenzie (c) | Charlie Payne | Geoff Gosper |
| Reserve(s): | Bruce Lake | Don Gross | |
| Coach: | Jack Clarke | ||
| Carlton vs Essendon | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2:30PM AEST | ||||
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Final |
| Carlton | 2.2 (14) | 6.8 (44) | 7.9 (51) | 7.14 (56) |
| Essendon | 2.1 (13) | 5.1 (31) | 6.4 (40) | 8.5 (53) |
| Venue: | Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne | |||
| Date and time: | September 28, 1968 | |||
| Attendance: | 116,828 | |||
| Umpires: | ||||
| Goal scorers: | Carlton | 4: Kekovich 1: Crane, Crosswell, Quirk |
||
| Essendon | 4: Blethyn 1: Close, Lake, Noonan, Sproule |
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| Best: | Carlton | |||
| Essendon | ||||
| Reports: | nil | |||
| Injuries: | nil | |||
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